The Devastation of Disobedience

"Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. And you murmured in your tents and said, 'Because the LORD hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.'
Deuteronomy 1:26-27

A selfish stream of thinking led to a miserable and dangerous theology and that brought about God's judgment that defined a generation in Israel. The Exodus generation had so much promise, so much potential to believe God. They experienced so much directly from the hand of God. You'd think it would have strengthened their faith. They had been slaves in Egypt under awful treatment. They saw God defeat a political superpower while they did not lift a finger. God secured their freedom. God literally fed them in the wilderness. He led them visibly. They received His law... a document unique to them. But they ended up believing that God was the exact opposite of Who He was. That was a problem... a big problem.

The result of their tent rebellion was that God saw it, was angered, and acted (Deuteronomy 1:34). And an entire generation was cursed to depend on Him solely in the wilderness for the next forty years. They were spiritual toddlers who would die never having really matured in their faith, but nurtured by God nonetheless. That was the result of a theology that disbelieved God's love and refused faith. It disobeyed God and would not follow Him.

Fruitlessness and judgment follow in the wake of disobedience. Even if that disobedience still has some kind of belief in God. These Israelites believed there was a God. They did not believe what He revealed about Himself. The result is very tragic and is painful to read. But God still loved Israel. He prepared a new generation during that 40 year time period. That new generation would boldly and gladly claim His promise.


- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

Human Pride & the World's Oldest Lie

This is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, "I am, and there is no one else." What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.
Zephaniah 2:15

These words were written about a city that God at one time spared when they repented: Ninevah. You can read about their story of repentance in Jonah. But at this stage, human pride had crept in. The Assyrians were proud and cruel. This city had attitude. They felt they were the greatest thing on earth. The new city slogan was one that only should be said of God: I am and there is no one else. This was hijacking the glory of God.

God promised complete desolation to that town, and that is exactly what occurred. Ninevah is now an archeologist's ruin. It became desolate and deserted. An empire crumbled. A city was overrun and destroyed. Only ruins exist and they had to be dug from the earth that swallowed them.

Human pride is very powerful and very temporary. It gets its instant of self-glory, but in no way does it compare to the eternal majesty of God. Eventually humanity's best efforts lead to ruin. We fall apart. Entropy and decay, disease, chaos, war, and poverty all take their toll. We cannot claim to be like God, though Satan continues to re-package that first lie to us (Genesis 3:4-5). Glory only belongs to God. And human beings are better only in worship of Him.

- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

Believing There is a God is Dangerously Not Enough

At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.'
Zephaniah 1:12

This verse show us that the heart of God is not tender toward His people when they become apathetic toward Him. These folks are theists. They believe God does exist. They just cannot ascribe any clear activity in the world to Him. But God is about to change their theology.

The climate that created that kind of complacency in Jerusalem was one in which Israel had slowly let the worship of God decline. It began by allowing idolatry to coexist. Then they became syncretistic in their religion, acknowledging every kind of pagan god around them. That is the danger of an accommodating religious tolerance that things all religions are equal. All religions do not teach the same thing and do not lead to the same place. And God gets our attention when we disobey Him or replace Him or deny Him.

God was going to demonstrate His judgment on people who doubted His activity in the world. It would eventually come very swiftly and brutally to Jerusalem. Eventually Babylon would totally sack the city, kill thousands, and lead the survivors in humiliation to a captivity far from their familiar home. There the Jews would abandon idolatry never to return to it. But the hard lessons would come because believing there is a God is never enough to enter into proper relationship with Him. Good theology leads to robust worship, obedience, and the awareness of His activity in the world.


- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

Location:Thompson Dr,De Soto,United States

Salvation & Judgment

Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind."

John 9:39

 

I am trying to understand this statement in the light of an earlier statement that Jesus made to Nicodemus. He has said that the Son came into the world NOT to condemn it, but to save it (John 3:17). How does that square with this statement? I believe the answer is found in the audience of each statement.

 

In John 3, Jesus is dealing with an inquisitive seeker who has come to Him to find questions answered about eternal life. And the salvific purposes of God for the world flow from that conversation. The world has the potential for salvation by Jesus. Generally, God’s grace is offered freely to the entire world. But some will receive it while many will reject Jesus.

 

The John 9 conversation (at least at the end of the chapter) is directed to those who have see Jesus testify to His deity. They have seen a man born blind testify to His deity. They have seen a man born blind testify to Jesus’ work and power. And they continued in blind unbelief because to change would destroy their incorrect theology. That is why judgment would come. They refused to accept their sinful beliefs. Even in this statement, Jesus makes it clear that blind people (those lost and spiritually dead who believed Him) would see, and those who thought they saw (spiritually self-righteous who refuse to repent) would be blinded by Him. That is the difference between John 3 and John 9.

 

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The end of a prophet for hire.

Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.

Numbers 31:16

 

This chapter is about a battle to eradicate an evil influence. God directed Moses and the people of Israel to annihilate the Midianites. They had successfully defeated Israel, not in battle, but by enticing the nation into idolatry. And that influence could not be allowed to stay active. These were harsh measures against an insidious social degradation. It was the spiritual duty of Israel to obey God’s command in this matter.

 

One of the casualties of this war was Balaam (Numbers 31:8). It is undoubtedly part of his influence on Israel that even though he could not prophecy against Israel, he could align himself with those who enticed Israel into sin and judgment from God. It was for this deed that he was eliminated. Ultimately his pragmatic practices were his undoing. He died with the ones who paid him the most for his spiritual duties. Not a great end.

 

That is the real lesson from this chapter. Israel is back to obedience, and a false prophet is judged for his disobedience. He sounded pious when he refused to prophecy against Israel, but in the end his actions of aligning himself with Israel’s enemies showed that profit was his motivation, not prophecy. Human fame and fortune are not enough in the end. They never are.

 

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Prophet for hire, part 3

And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, 'I will certainly honor you,' but the LORD has held you back from honor."

Numbers 24:10-11

 

This is the end of the matter between Balak and Balaam. God used the pagan seer to shut down and frustrate an enemy of Israel. And in the process Balaam learns some things. His prophecies in Numbers 24 sort of “seal the deal” for Israel’s success in the eyes of her enemies. And he is convinced that God will ultimately destroy Moab and all those who oppose Israel’s move into the Promised Land.

 

Balaam is an interesting study because of who he is. He is used by God, even inspired by God, to deliver these messages. Yet, we cannot be convinced he ultimately comes to know God. He seems more interested in divination than devotion. And his final verdict in scripture is that he was a deceiver (Revelation 2:14).

 

Still, it is more than amusing that God would use Balaam to get his truth out. And obviously what happened made it back to Israel because of these scriptures providing record of the events. Balaam would eventually die in the conquest of Canaan. But God’s truth and His plan for His people would continue… forever.

 

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swift judgment

And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.

Numbers 16:31-32

 

This was the most significant rebellion yet in Israel. It was not so much against Moses as it was against God as is made clear in this chapter. That is why this dramatic judgment falls on Korah and his household. He thought he could lead a coalition of new leaders to replace Aaron and his sons and overthrow God’s choice for priests and leaders in Israel. God answered pretty dramatically with this sinkhole that sucked away all traces of the rebellion!

 

And all those who followed Korah in spiritual rebellion were consumed by fire that torched all those who thought they could offer incense instead of Aaron’s sons. And then a plague supernaturally spread through the camp quickly killing off another 14,700 people. This was significant and attention-getting. God once again confirmed to a stubborn people that He was in control and that the methods and men He had chosen were best.

 

It bothers me when I secretly wish that this kind of judgment were quickly evident today. I am hurt when I hear other Christians talk this way. I would much rather know deep mercy and grace in Christ. But there is a day when this sort of dramatically visible confirmation of God’s rulership over man’s rebellion will be seen again (2 Peter 3:9-10). It is clear that God’s patience and mercy have reserved the expression of His outward wrath and judgment for that future time. He is sovereign. That is His plan. And I will faithfully seek to live and preach the gospel so that repentance might come to some. Seeing Korah and company swallowed up into Hell today is not a pleasant vision. The trauma of that reality in the past compels me with the gospel reality in the present.

 

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Waiting out an entire generation

…not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected.

Numbers 14:30-31

 

Israel rejected God when they rejected His call to enter the Promised Land. And God had to bring some sort of lesson to this disobedience. The consequence was that for the next four decades the nation would be doomed to nomadic wandering in a desert that doomed them to daily remember their faithlessness. An entire generation would eventually die. And their children would have the faith and courage to obey God. Faith and obedience always go hand in hand. You can’t just say you believe God and then live by your own wishes.

 

God built into the next generation of Israelites a robust faith. They knew that their lives would be better by trusting God. They lived with the horrible consequences of judgment. As each body of the generation that rejected Canaan was buried in the sand of Sinai, a growing sense of something new coming down the line had to fill the next generation with hope. And when the time came for them to cross over, they enthusiastically accepted the challenge.

 

This chapter of Numbers is not very grace-filled (at least at first glance). But God did hear Moses’ prayer and chose NOT to eradicate the nation and build a new one from Moses. God was actually merciful by punishing just one generation and promising anew His deliverance to a new generation. And the lessons they learned on the necessary mutual requirements of faith and obedience would define a generation that would conquer and receive.

 

I often wonder how they felt. What was it like to wait for an entire generation to die off? Did they count down the last few survivors, waiting for them to fall so they could move forward? We don’t know. But we do know that they did not grumble like their parents did. That may be the big lesson to learn. Real faith and real obedience does not complain or suggest “better ways” to God.

 

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complainers

And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.

Numbers 11:1

 

I hate to see this. Israel’s track record to this point in the Book of Numbers has been good. But just under a third of the way through the book, the story takes a rough turn. One of the features of the Book of Numbers is its recounting of Israel’s grumbling, complaining, and rebelling against God. And this chapter records the first few moments of that part of the story.

 

There complaints start out as a very generic kind of griping. They complain about their misfortunes. Undoubtedly there were murmurs about desert life, about being forced to eek out a nomad’s existence. And God chose to get their attention through a fire that consumed the outward edges of the camp… perhaps where the grumbling originated. And this got their attention. Moses interceded with God and the fire was quenched.

 

The second episode shows that they did not learn their lesson. They missed the perceived smorgasbord of food that was theirs in Egypt. Of course the tradeoff was slavery, which they neglected to mention in their sinful reminiscing. God again was upset at them, but graciously provided more quail than they could handle. During their feast, a plague breaks out (could it have been some kind of food poisoning?) before they have even finished eating (the text is very direct - “while the meat was yet between their teeth”). So a second episode of complaining has resulted in judgment. Has Israel learned a lesson yet? Wait and see.

 

Watch where you complain. God can quickly show you that your perspective is short-sighted by taking you a place you never wanted to go. I know this thought has my attention right now. I think I will look for ways to find praise for God in my present circumstances. When things aren’t as I want them to be, it is time to be drawn to worship, not whining!

 

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Dramatic Judgment

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

Leviticus 10:1-2

This could not be any more dramatic. This episode occurs right after God has accepted the consecrated work of Aaron and his sons as priests.This incident was a painful variation from normal pattern of obedience that had been Israel’s story up to this point. At the end of chapter nine fire comes out from God to consume the sacrifice (showing His approval). The very next set of verses in chapter ten show fire coming out from God to consume the priests! I think God was not happy!

Why? What had Nadab and Abihu done that warranted such extreme and immediate judgment? There are three possible explanations for their actions which are simply called “unauthorized”. They were offering incense before the Lord. They may have used coals that were not from the prescribed source. They may have offered the incense at the wrong time of day. It is clear that this was not unintentional, but a deliberate violation, which has led some scholars to suggest that the command in Leviticus 10:9 that the priests avoid wine or strong drink points to the fact that they came before the Lord in a drunken state, making a mockery of their priestly duties. Again, all three show a deliberate disregard for the holiness of God, and dramatic judgment is the result.

God will be taken seriously. That is the point of the text. And if He is not, human beings who disregard Him will have to deal with the consequences. To obey Him brings blessing and awesome power at display among His people. To disobey Him brings judgment and awesome power is displayed then as well. Either way God gets glorified. He is glorified in both reward for obedience, and judgment for sin.

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Diamond-hard hearts

But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 7:11-12

This section of the prophet Zechariah is a review of the history of Judah that led the nation into the seventy years of captivity in Babylon. It begins with request of the people of Bethel. They simply wanted to know if it was proper to observe the month of fasting that had become customary among the Jews to mourn their captivity in Babylon. Now that they were back in the land, they wondered what to do.

The answer is enigmatic. God replies first with a set of questions about priorities. He asks if the fasts were indeed for “Him” (Zechariah 7:5). He assumes that the taking of food and drink was for their own nourishment (Zechariah 7:6). He reminds them to look to the words of the prophets that came before the captivity (Zechariah 7:7).

Then God uses the occasion of this question to remind everyone what led to the Babylonian captivity. He let them know that the expectations for His people then had not changed. What God wanted for Israeli society then was the same expectation. They should be just, caring, kind, merciful, helpful to the poor and the orphaned, and hospitable to the stranger and the poor. (Zechariah 9-10). The generation that went into the exile had failed to do this.

The language used to describe that generation makes it clear that they deliberately chose to disobey God in these matters. They turned a stubborn shoulder. They covered their ears. It was not just a matter of negligence, but rather disobedience that dishonored God in the matter. And they knew what they were doing. They knew God had sent His command through the prophets. But they hardened their hearts to diamond density. That is what led to their judgment.

The message from this warning is to guard the heart. It is to maintain a tender willingness to hear and respond to God’s Word. It is to turn from selfish concerns and care for needs around us. This is what cultivates God’s desires for our hearts.

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Better Days Coming

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Malachi 4:2

One of the underlying themes of Malachi is contrast between God’s disobedient people and God’s obedient people. This chapter provides the final picture of that contrast in the future “day of the Lord”. God’s picture in strong. In Malachi 4:1 the disobedient are set ablaze like stubble in a field, burning in the oven of God’s judgment. Malachi 4:3 sees them as nothing but ashes under the soles of the righteous. Pretty rough language.

Those who fear God’s name are encouraged to see that future time as a new refreshing day. Righteousness rises with a new sun and healing comes to those who have suffered for doing right. They are giddy and playful like calves set free from overnight stabling in a barn stall. God longs for joy to mark the lives of His people, and judgment alone is not the vision God has for Israel. He also wants them to know unspeakable joy in His work and presence.

The prophet ends with a call for Israel to return to obedience to the law of Moses. They were showing horrible contempt for it, mixing the outward forms of it with inward disdain. God wants His people to love His Word and His decrees again. That is how they will love Him. He is after their hearts, and the final admonition of Malachi shows this. God would capture their hearts by sending “Elijah” with a generationally stirring message to them (Malachi 4:5-6). He will turn families toward each other, and toward God. This is promised before the day of reckoning to God is at hand. Of course, this was clearly answered in the first advent in the ministry of John the Baptist. I believe it will be strongly shown before Christ’s second advent, possibly with the direct ministry of Elijah in Israel again. God will keep His Word.

This little prophet of Malachi has had a lot to say about the heart that truly should turn to God. I have been surprised at its relevance to my own. God always is concerned for the heart, and I should not be surprised that my heart is the target of His word and His Spirit’s work. It is where He does His most important work. And better days are coming when a final move of God in calling people to Him and judging those who reject His work will make a world where the best work of His in all hearts will mark everything everyone does.

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An Entry in God’s Journal

Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.

Malachi 3:16

God keeps His journals. Scripture makes this sort of statement as a matter of fact. Revelation takes about “the books” being opened at the last judgment. And the most important of those books is the “Lamb’s book of life”. I know that I tend to journal about the things I see in God that make me take notice. It seems from this passage that God journals about the deeds of His people.

Malachi 3:6-18 shows two contrasting groups of people. The first group, represented by the majority in Judah, are going through the motions of spirituality. They are led by corrupt priests and leaders. Their hearts are not in their worship. They have no problem offering diseased animals on the altar of sacrifice. They hold back tithes an offerings. They accuse God of being unfair.

The second groups is faithful. They fear God, and they encourage one another in the truth and in the right way. And God takes notice of them. It is this second groups that makes an entry in His “book of remembrance”. Their faithfulness to obeying and following and believing in Him is known by Him. He accepts their worship. He rewards the faithful remnant, even as He seeks to turn that first group back to Him.

I want to make an entry into God’s “book of remembrance”. I am afraid that I get caught up in the line of thinking of the ones who question God and only give him a half-hearted worship. I am reminded that faithful following is rewarded, and repentance from my turnings away will lead to renewed blessing if I return to former faithfulness.

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Reason for God to act.

And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.

Revelation 18:24

Just a simple observation from this text today. When God does finally move against the Babylon in Revelation, it is because she has opposed Him to the point of killing His messengers and His people. He executes profound judgment because His justice must deal with profound sins: rejection, raging against God and His work, and the responsibility for the deaths of most of those on the planet who have died to this point in the book of Revelation. God can easily handle His own opposition. He does not need anyone else to serve justice for Him.

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True & Just

And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, "Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!"
And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!"

Revelation 16:5-7

This song of worship comes as a direct response to God’s retributive judgment on those who have rejected and rebelled against Him. It praises God for His justice. The praise follows a simple line of thinking. God is just because He brought the judgments. He acts in judgment and that alone is cause for Him being seen as just. Secondly. God acts in such a way that those who are judged are judged in a deserving manner. There is an irony in the judgment that turns the water to blood, since the beast and his followers have led a bloody persecution against God’s people. The punishment fits the crime, and that is just.

Thirdly, God is just because He is the Almighty. God has all power at His disposal to dispense His justice. He is remarkably restrained when one considers that fact! He could just obliterate the world of humanity at any time, but does not do so. And the final observation about His justice is that He is true. He does not cause further sinful behavior, neither are His judgments subject to debate about their moral equity. He is true and so are His actions.

Lord,

I do not pause to consider these truths enough, because like most Christians, I tend to associate judgment with rage or anger. But Your justice is fundamental to Your very person and nature, as the angels sing of in this passage. May I be equally impressed and worship You Who are just and true.

Amen

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The Seventh Trumpet

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."

Revelation 11:15

Again, the uninterrupted worship service in heaven keeps moving forward as events on the earth become more and more dramatically difficult. God is being worshiped even as humanity is rebelling against His judgments. At this point the worship has reached a climactic crescendo. It affirms God’s sovereign rule over the world of humanity.

As heaven worships, the text in Revelation 11:17-18 goes on to point out four aspects of God’s sovereign rule that are worth reflecting upon.

1)  The nations of the earth rage sinfully, but God still displays a righteous wrath that is meant to be corrective and reflective.

2)  The time for the dead to be judged is coming. No one will escape this scrutiny.

3)  God’s servants from the ages will be rewarded. Final vindication is coming.

4)  Those who have been complicit in the destruction of lives on earth through selfish disobedience will themselves by destroyed. God will “destroy the destroyers”.

Of course those are not idyllic reflections. They aren’t inspirational in the “pretty picture” sense of the world. But they are true and they are just as much a part of our future as heaven and eternal joy are a part of our future. God is worthy to be worshiped in judgment just as He is in grace and mercy BECAUSE His judgments are always fair, holy, and right.

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Unrepentant

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Revelation 9:20-21

This may be one of the saddest verses in the Bible. As God continues His relentless revelation through judgment, the human race continues on its course against Him. Even as the very demons of Hell torture humanity, the people of the earth will not turn away from the worship of demons nor will they see that their worshiping hearts have been worshiping the wrong things. They refuse to take moral responsibility either.

There is a strength in disobedience that staggers the imagination. As I read a passage like this, I am amazed at how people can willfully continue in sin. Until I look deeply at my own heart. And I know that sin is a cruel master. And although I am now under “new management” in Christ, I find that sin can still be deceptive and my sinful choices can want to circumvent God’s truth. Self-deception is common in my own sinful struggles. So in that understanding, this continuance in a logically defeating religion is expected human behavior. We love sin too much.

The difference in the book of Revelation is that God is moving much more overtly. There is greater light. And His “witnesses” are on the earth as well, as well as those who bear His mark. So the world is not entirely Hell on earth during this time. Humanity may be characterized by open rebellion and unwillingness to turn from sin, but some have done so. There is a remnant, and a strong one, even during the scorching judgments of Revelation. So unbelief and lack of repentance do not ultimately go unchecked. It is sad to see them so flagrant. But God will continue to get the attention of rebel hearts, even if they refuse Him.

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The Prayers of the Saints.

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.

Revelation 8:3-4

This chapter marks a turn in the book of Revelation. The imagery is filled with judgment and terror on the earth. It is part of what makes the book and its apocalyptic descriptions so hard to understand. But this little passage makes it clear that one of the reasons these judgments come to the earth has to do with the treatment of God’s people. The study notes in the ESV Study Bible provide a concise description of this:

As incense was associated with the prayers of the saints in the earthly sanctuary (see Ps. 141:2; Luke 1:9–11), so it is in John's visions (see Rev. 5:8). Not only martyrs under the heavenly altar (6:9–10) but also suffering saints on earth cry out for justice. Therefore fire from the altar, from which the saints' prayers rise, will be flung to earth in judgment, indicating that the judgments to follow answer the prayers of the saints.

Part of the reason that Revelation contains such stern and difficult descriptions is that God has prepared His Day for all judgment to be rendered. The saint’s have been offering prayer for deliverance and justice throughout the ages, and I believe that it is the events of this book that show God’s answers in their fullest.

When I pray for justice now, and if God chooses to withhold it until this future time, I can only know that I can see the clear answers coming in the biblical text. Patience is part of the character of God. Even during this time of intense tribulation, He will have His witnesses on the Because He has revealed His future plans to us in His Word, we can pray confidently for His will to be done, even in our worst circumstances, and our prayers surround His altar like fine incense.

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Irrational Idolatry & The wrath of the Lamb

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

Revelation 6:15-17

This vision describes a very different planet of people, and a very different response of Jesus to them than what I know today. Part of me wonders if the spiritual climate of the western world right now would even want to hide from God’s wrath. Would they even care that Jesus was judge?

What interests me in this passage is the idolatry of the peoples of the earth who are aware of the wrath of the Lamb. It is a naturalism that is an idolatry. They cry out to mountains and rocks to kill them. They would rather die by their idols than from the truth of the fact that Jesus is the Judge to Whom they must answer. They hope to be buried by an avalanche and somehow to miss being part of the wrath of the Lamb. They know He is invincible (“the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”) yet they refuse to yield. Their idolatry is strong and irrational.

Even to the very end,  blind naturalism will refuse to bow. It would seem that Jesus “telegraphs” His role as Judge enough that the people of earth are well aware of what is going on. They have survived unification in empire, war, famine, disease and natural catastrophes. And yet they wish for one more global upheaval in order to keep themselves from accountability before God. They know they will answer to God at this point. Trial has reduced them down to that clear understanding. But sinful rebellion remains enough for those in that day to turn to the senseless commitments of the idolatry of pure naturalism. These men pray to rocks and geographic formations, while acknowledging the anger of God against them. Incredible. Sin truly deceives… right to the very end.

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The only evaluation that matters

I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
Revelation 2:19

The inescapable reality of the first few chapters of Revelation are the Jesus calls His people to account for their activity. And the individual churches are examined by Him. He comments on what is good. He chastises them for their respectable sins. He promises them what is good for a repentance and renewal.

Jesus knows my church. I wonder what He might say about us? Are our works characterized by love, faith, service, and patient endurance? I could easily pick on the evangelical church as reflected in its various leadership movements. But that is not what Jesus did in this context. He walked congregation by congregation through the individual churches of Asia Minor and made His assessments. I have to think He does the same today.

I find an interesting analysis in the ESV Study Bible that might serve as a pattern for evaluating my own congregation:

So what does this all mean? I think the big issue is to brace for what He will say. And know that with repentance comes forgiveness, new grace, and the chance to honor Christ.

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